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I've never been good with words.
It's because I saw through this world a long time ago.
Life is just a performance—all acting, nothing real.
I watched my parents, who should've separated long ago, pretend to stay together "for my sake."
They never knew how much I wished they'd just divorce.
It would've been better than watching them wear masks every day, barely holding on.
From the outside, we looked like the perfect loving family.
But to me, only music felt real. Only music could heal.
Chloe Bennett was my classmate.
I'd noticed her watching me for a long time.
I'll admit—I liked her a little.
She was always smiling, always chasing after me with questions.
When other kids picked on me, she stood up for me.
But when she confessed her feelings, I turned her down.
As a student, I was supposed to play the role of someone focused only on studying.
Romance? That wasn't part of the script.
My dad died in a car accident when I was in middle school.
After the college entrance exams, my mom told me she'd delayed treatment to avoid affecting my studies.
Not long after, she was gone too.
I played the part of the grateful orphan—the good son who remembered his parents' sacrifices.
I stayed quiet, not because I was heartbroken, but because I felt… nothing.
They'd pretended their whole lives to be loving parents and a perfect couple.
I pretended my whole life to be the devoted son.
Finally, I didn't have to pretend anymore.
Mia Williams was my college classmate.
She came from a well-off family.
I knew she initially looked down on me.
But after I won that singing competition, everything changed.
I was a rising star—a safe bet.
I knew we were the same kind of person.
We both wanted fame and success but acted like we didn't care.
The difference was, she was sloppier than me.
She went around telling everyone she gave up being a wealthy socialite for me.
She said she sacrificed everything to be a full-time wife.
I saw right through it.
She was just building her "perfect woman" image.
I played along,coax her, because strangely… I liked the control she had over me.
Everyone else could see she was unhinged.
But the crazier she acted, the more patient and gentle I seemed.
And the more fans felt sorry for me.
We never had children.
I'd secretly gotten tested—I was infertile.
I never told Mia.
By that time, my career was declining.
She grew more and more dissatisfied with me.
I knew she was cheating.
She picked fights, made scenes, and finally divorced me.
The more pitiable I seemed, the more my public image grew.
And I went looking for the next woman I could control.
Not long after, I ran into Chloe at an industry event.
I pretended to be heartbroken and vulnerable.
Women always fall for that—they want to fix you.
She actually believed me. We eloped.
She was an actress on the rise.
But I couldn't let her career overshadow mine.
So I kept persuading her to stay home, to let me take care of her.
We lived like that for a year.
Then out of nowhere, Mia came back.
I'd worried that a sudden marriage would ruin my "heartbroken singer" image, so I'd kept it secret.
Then came the divorce reality show.
I convinced Mia to join me—for the clout, the buzz.
Unexpectedly, people actually believed our love story.
I was back in the spotlight.
I never thought Chloe would get so angry.
She didn't even care about her own career—she announced our marriage publicly.
It was a mess.
I still hadn't fully tamed her.
Things spiraled out of control.
I went to apologize, like I'd done so many times before.
But this time… she didn't accept it.
She told me I was a fraud.
For the first time, someone saw right through me.
When she touched my head and said, "I loved you, but now I regret it,"
Something in my chest tightened—I couldn't breathe.
Maybe I'd had a chance at real happiness.
But I'd ruined it.
I'd trampled on something genuine.
Was I wrong?
I don't know.
But I decided to let her go.
Setting her free was the most honest thing I ever did for Chloe.
